Officials fear retaliation after I-69 demonstrators' arrests

INDIANAPOLIS — After two Interstate 69 protesters were removed from their treetop perch Friday, state transportation officials worried about potential retaliation from groups opposed to the interstate construction project.

The arrests at the highway construction site in Gibson County soon were followed by a Web posting by the environmental group Roadblock Earth First. It encouraged followers to conduct solidarity demonstrations against contractors and engineering firms working on the I-69 project. "Solidarity is attack," the anonymous posting said.

"It's important for people to understand that kind of language is not just an idle threat, that these folks will be retaliating in one way, shape or form; and we take them at their word," said Andy Dietrick, spokesman for the Indiana Department of Transportation.

In light of recent anti-I-69 protests, the department has created a zone near the construction site where people can demonstrate, he said.

I-69 demonstrators began a tree-sitting protest against the project May 19, erecting makeshift platforms in the branches of some trees that are within the Gibson County construction site but not among the trees slated for removal. Other demonstrators set up an encampment below. Although the group was trespassing on land state government owns, the transportation department allowed them to stay for a month.

"As long as they were not posing a threat to public safety, as long as there was no property damage, and as long as they were not an impediment to construction, then they weren't harming anything other than the area in which they were staying," Dietrick said. But "we're at a point in the project now where pretty much all three issues came into play."

With groundbreaking on the initial segment of I-69 scheduled for mid-July, the department asked law enforcement to remove the demonstrators.

"These folks are in the way of the project moving forward," Dietrick said.

Officers used a cherry picker to pluck the pair from the trees early Friday, and lowered them to the ground to arrest them on trespassing charges.

Three protesters on the ground left after being warned they would be arrested for trespassing, said Sgt. Chad Dick of the Indiana State Police. They later were arrested for obstructing traffic along Indiana 68.

A Bloomington-based anti-I-69 group calling itself the "I-69 Media Office" issued a news release Friday denouncing the arrests. In an interview, member Ralph Stanton said the organization is separate from Roadblock Earth First, even though Earth First is listed as a point of contact on the its Web site.

Stanton complained the tree-sitters were arrested in a "very dangerous" manner that left them at risk of falling and caused one to be exposed to poison ivy while being handcuffed. Supporters are seeking to raise bail money for the pair, he said.

"The tree-sit has been hugely successful in gaining community support in Gibson County," Stanton said, adding that local residents had brought the demonstrators food during their encampments.

He said supporters are "feeling inspired by the resistance" and "alienated and detached from the political process."

Stanton said he could not definitively answer what Earth First meant by naming I-69 contractors and consultants on its anonymous Web site.

"I can't imagine it would be widespread vandalism or anything like that," he said, "but that's just my opinion."

Interpreting threats

Last week, a chunk of concrete was thrown through the window of an I-69 project consultant's office in Bloomington, an act trumpeted on the Roadblock Earth First Web site.

Previously, Roadblock Earth First has circulated fliers stating "We will never let them build this road," which the transportation department has interpreted as a threat. Dietrick said the department will work closely with law enforcement and the road contractor as construction begins.

The first two-mile segment of Interstate 69 is being built in the Indiana 57 corridor between Interstate 64 and Indiana 68 in Gibson County.

Mindful that opponents of the I-69 project might hold more protests, the transportation department has designated a demonstration area alongside the construction site. The fenced-off protest zone will be on the south side of Nobles Chapel Road, 200 feet west of Indiana 57. It will be open from dawn to dusk, Dietrick said.

"We are not here to stop anybody's First Amendment right to disagree with something," Dietrick said. "We set up a public gathering area that is clearly defined on site and is posted with the rules of engagement, if you will; and anyone who wishes to voice their opinion about the project is welcome to do so, as long as they follow the rules."